2023 Major League Cricket season
The 2023 Major League Cricket season (also known as the 2023 MLC) was the inaugural season of the Major League Cricket,[1] a franchise Twenty20 cricket league established in 2019 by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) in the United States.[2] The season was hosted at two venues, Grand Prairie Stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas and Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina.[3] The season was played from July 13 to 30, 2023,[4] with MI New York defeating the Seattle Orcas by seven wickets to win the inaugural title.[5][6]
| Dates | 13 – July 30, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | American Cricket Enterprises USA Cricket |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) | United States |
| Champions | MI New York (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Seattle Orcas |
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 19 |
| Attendance | 70,000 (3,684 per match) |
| Player of the series | Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) |
| Most runs | Nicholas Pooran (MI New York) (388) |
| Most wickets | Trent Boult (MI New York) (22) |
| Official website | www |
Background
Major League Cricket announced in November 2022 that its inaugural season would be played at Grand Prairie Stadium starting July 13 and concluding July 30.[7] MLC also revealed that the tournament would be played in a single round-robin format with fifteen league matches played among six franchises before a four-match play-off phase.[8][9]
In March 2023, the teams for the tournament were announced ahead of the league's inaugural draft – called the Texas Super Kings, the Seattle Orcas, the Los Angeles Knight Riders, the Washington Freedom, the MI New York, and the San Francisco Unicorns respectively.[10][11] The draft for the season was then held on March 19, with Harmeet Singh being picked first overall and Aaron Finch and Quinton de Kock among others highlighting the draft.[12][13] In the buildup to the season opener, teams signed multiple other players including Jason Roy, Adam Zampa, and Moises Henriques.[14]
In April, USA Cricket – the governing body of cricket in the United States – officially sanctioned the tournament following a dispute with tournament organizers, American Cricket Enterprises, that threatened to delay the launch of MLC.[15][16] Tournament fixtures were announced on June 12 – nearly two months later.[17][18] In addition, it also revealed that the tournament would be held at two venues, Grand Prairie Stadium and Church Street Park for the group stage,[19][20] while all playoff matches and the final would be held at Grand Prairie Stadium. Tickets for the matches were also made available on the same day.[21]
Teams
Teams were announced by MLC in March 2023, with team coaches and captains being announced in the months following.[11]
Squads
A minimum of 16 players and a maximum of 19 players can be selected by the teams with a maximum of nine overseas players. The teams can select nine local players in the draft and another one as a wildcard.
- Ambati Rayudu withdrew from Major League Cricket amid a proposal made by the BCCI to enact a year-long "cooling-off" period for recently retired players.[24] Rayudu was replaced by former CSK teammate Imran Tahir.[25]
- Wanindu Hasaranga withdrew from Major League Cricket due to both not receiving a NOC (no-objection-certificate) from Sri Lanka Cricket and due to Hasaranga wanting to "manage his workloads".[26] He was replaced in the squad by Tanveer Sangha.[27]
- Mitchell Marsh was pulled out of the tournament by Cricket Australia in order to manage his workload ahead of Australia's build-up for the 2023 Cricket World Cup and due to the tournament clashing with the Ashes series.[28]
- Sikandar Raza withdrew from Major League Cricket due to it clashing with the 2023 Zim Afro T10.
Venues
| Grand Prairie | Morrisville |
|---|---|
| Grand Prairie Stadium Capacity: 7,000 (expandable to 15,000) |
Church Street Park Capacity: 3,500 |
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Orcas | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.725 |
| 2 | Texas Super Kings | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.570 |
| 3 | Washington Freedom | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.097 |
| 4 | MI New York | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.004 |
| 5 | San Francisco Unicorns | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −0.303 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Knight Riders | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −2.028 |
Source: ESPNcricinfo
Advanced to the Qualifier
Advanced to the Eliminator
League stage
Texas Super Kings 181/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Los Angeles Knight Riders 112 (14 overs) |
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns 215/5 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 193/5 (20 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.
Washington Freedom 144/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Seattle Orcas 148/5 (19.4 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
Seattle Orcas 177/4 (20 overs) |
v |
San Francisco Unicorns 142 (17.5 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to bat.
Washington Freedom 163/5 (20 overs) |
v |
Texas Super Kings 157/7 (20 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to bat.
MI New York 155/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Los Angeles Knight Riders 50 (13.5 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to bat.
Texas Super Kings 154/7 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 137/8 (20 overs) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
San Francisco Unicorns 212/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Los Angeles Knight Riders 191/5 (20 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.
Los Angeles Knight Riders 175/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Washington Freedom 177/4 (18.1 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss elected to field.
- Los Angeles Knight Riders were eliminated as a result of this match.
Texas Super Kings 127 (20 overs) |
v |
Seattle Orcas 128/2 (16 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
- Seattle Orcas qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.
Washington Freedom 133/8 (20 overs) |
v |
San Francisco Unicorns 103 (19.5 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to field.
- Washington Freedom qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.
Seattle Orcas 170/6 (20 overs) |
v |
Los Angeles Knight Riders 175/8 (19.1 overs) |
- Los Angeles Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.
Washington Freedom 160/6 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 161/2 (15.3 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
San Francisco Unicorns 171/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Texas Super Kings 172/7 (19.1 overs) |
- San Francisco Unicorns won the toss and elected to bat.
- Texas Super Kings qualified for the playoffs as a result of this match.
MI New York 194/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Seattle Orcas 195/8 (19.2 overs) |
- Seattle Orcas won the toss and elected to field.
- MI New York qualified for the playoffs and San Francisco Unicorns were eliminated as a result of this match.
Play-offs
| Qualifier / Eliminator | Challenger | Final | |||||||||||
| July 27, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 19:30 CDT | July 30, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 19:30 CDT | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle Orcas | 127/1 (15 overs) | QW | Seattle Orcas | 183/9 (20 overs) | ||||||||
| 2 | Texas Super Kings | 126/9 (20 overs) | July 28, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 19:30 CDT | CW | MI New York | 184/3 (16 overs) | |||||||
| QL | Texas Super Kings | 158 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
| July 27, 2023 - Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, 15:30 CDT | EW | MI New York | 162/4 (19 overs) | ||||||||||
| 3 | Washington Freedom | 125/9 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
| 4 | MI New York | 141/7 (20 overs) | |||||||||||
MI New York 141/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Washington Freedom 125/9 (20 overs) |
- Washington Freedom won the toss and elected to field.
Texas Super Kings 126/9 (20 overs) |
v |
Seattle Orcas 127/1 (15 overs) |
- Texas Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.
Texas Super Kings 158 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 162/4 (19 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
Final
Seattle Orcas 183/9 (20 overs) |
v |
MI New York 184/3 (16 overs) |
- MI New York won the toss and elected to field.
- The MI New York won the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament as a result of this match.
Statistics
Most runs
| Player | Team | Innings | Runs | High score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Pooran | MI New York | 8 | 388 | 137* |
| Quinton de Kock | Seattle Orcas | 7 | 264 | 88* |
| Heinrich Klaasen | Seattle Orcas | 6 | 235 | 110* |
| Devon Conway | Texas Super Kings | 7 | 221 | 74 |
| Tim David | MI New York | 7 | 209 | 53* |
- Source: ESPNCricinfo
Most wickets
| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets | Best bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | MI New York | 8 | 22 | 4/20 |
| Cameron Gannon | Seattle Orcas | 7 | 11 | 4/23 |
| Andrew Tye | Seattle Orcas | 7 | 11 | 3/32 |
| Imad Wasim | Seattle Orcas | 7 | 10 | 2/23 |
| Saurabh Netravalkar | Washington Freedom | 6 | 10 | 6/9 |
- Source: ESPNcricinfo
Awards
On July 28, 2023, a list of end of season awards was announced.[30]
| Name | Team | Award |
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Pooran | MI New York | Most Valuable Player |
| Nicholas Pooran | MI New York | Leading run scorer |
| Trent Boult | MI New York | Leading wicket taker |
| Cameron Gannon | Seattle Orcas | Domestic Player of the Series |
Broadcasting
In July 2023, Major League Cricket (MLC) announced that its inaugural season will be broadcast live in major cricketing nations.[31]
| Country | Television channel | Internet streaming applications | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | Sports18 | JioCinema | [32][33] |
| United States & Canada |
Willow TV |
[34] | |
| Australia | Fox Cricket | [35] | |
| Bangladesh | Toffee | ||
| Caribbean | SportsMax | ||
| Middle East & North Africa | Etisalat by e& | ||
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | ||
| Pakistan | A Sports | [36] | |
| South Africa | Super Sport | ||
| United Kingdom | BT Sport |
References
- Lavalette, Tristan (November 29, 2022). "Cricket Will 'Dream Big' In The U.S. As New Pro T20 League Looms". Forbes. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Amit Chaudhary, ET Bureau (March 25, 2023). "MLC: Cricket's American dream". The Economic Times. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Tagore, Vijay (June 12, 2023). "MLC's first season to be played in Grand Prairie and Morrisville". Cricbuzz. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Peter Della Penna (November 15, 2022). "Major League Cricket set for July 2023 launch in Grand Prairie". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Abraham, Timothy (July 31, 2023). "Major League Cricket: Nicholas Pooran century inspires MI New York to inaugural title". BBC Sport. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- Skipworth, William (July 31, 2023). "Billionaire Ambani's New York Cricket Team Wins First Ever U.S. Major League Cricket Championship". Forbes. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi (November 17, 2022). "Why Dallas investors are buying into major league cricket". Axios. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Lavalette, Tristan (November 17, 2022). "The New Pro T20 League In The U.S. Is Set To Shake Up Cricket Globally". Forbes. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- "MLC: Teams, players, format, fixtures, and everything else you need to know". ESPNcricinfo. July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- Shapiro, Nina (April 2, 2023). "Major League Cricket is coming to Seattle. Will it become the new soccer?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Patel, Smit. "DC's GMR group, MI and CSK to run MLC franchises". Cricbuzz. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- "Major League Cricket draft: Harmeet Singh makes history as first MLC pick". The Times of India. March 24, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- "Finch, de Kock unveiled on Major League Cricket draft day". Al Jazeera. March 21, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- IANS (June 10, 2023). "Major League Cricket: Finch, Stoinis, Hasaranga among top cricketers to feature in MLC from July 13". The Times of India. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Lavalette, Tristan (April 13, 2023). "America's Major League Cricket Has Been Sanctioned After A Dispute Threatened Its Historic Launch". Forbes. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- Peter Della Penna (March 23, 2023). "MLC start under threat after dispute between organisers and USA Cricket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- "MLC 2023 schedule: Full fixtures list, venues and time table for Major League Cricket 2023". Wisden. June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- Seeley, David (June 13, 2023). "Major League Cricket Announces 2023 Season Schedule, With First-Ever Match in Grand Prairie July 13". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- Wallis, Jay (November 15, 2022). "'It's an exciting time' | Major League Cricket coming to Grand Prairie in July 2023". WFAA. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- Bae, Cindy (May 5, 2023). "Morrisville on track to enhance cricket experience, host Major League Cricket events". ABC 11. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- Hays, Nate (June 14, 2023). "MLC announce schedule, Church Street Park as second venue, tickets for sale". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- "Russell, Narine, Roy and Ferguson join Knight Riders in Los Angeles for MLC". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- "Captain Pollard, Rashid, Boult headline MI New York 2023 squad". Mumbai Indians. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- "Ambati Rayudu withdraws from Major League Cricket stint with Texas Super Kings". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- Kuanal, James (July 12, 2023). "Texas Super Kings sign Imran Tahir after Ambati Rayudu withdraws from inaugural Major League Cricket". Sportskeeda. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- "Tanveer Sangha join as Hasaranga's Replacement in MLC 2023". Times of Sports News. July 13, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- "MLC 2023: Washington Freedom's complete list of players in Major League Cricket". Sportz Connect. Sportskeeda. July 15, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- "Maxwell, Marsh pulled out of the Hundred by Cricket Australia". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- Waris, Sarah (July 14, 2023). "Explained: Why Major League Cricket Doesn't Have Official T20 Status | MLC 2023". Wisden. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- @MLCricket (July 27, 2023). "My precious. Take a look at these beauties and let us know who you think will be taking them home!!! #MLCPlayoffs" (Tweet). Retrieved July 31, 2023 – via Twitter.
- "Major League Cricket Announces Further International Broadcasters for 2023 Season". Major League Cricket. July 12, 2023.
- "Reliance's Viacom 18 bags media rights for Major League Cricket". The Economic Times. July 7, 2023. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
- "Major League Cricket lands in India with Viacom18 broadcast deal". SportsPro Media. July 11, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- "Major League Cricket adds CBS Sports Network, Sling TV as domestic rights-holders". SportBusiness. July 17, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- Savage, Nic (July 13, 2023). "Everything you need to know ahead of the inaugural Major League Cricket tournament". Fox Sports. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
- "Ary lands Major League Cricket rights in Pakistan, opening game a sellout". SportBusiness. July 11, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
External links
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|---|---|
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